Leap of Faith
by Voyfan2
Summary: Tom and Kate make a splash at Voyager's farewell party.


_Kate, Tom and all things Voyager in this very AU story now belong to CBS. Anything else is mine. I don't get anything from this, and I doubt they'd be interested in this subject._

_ooo_

_AN: A bit of silliness here. KJ was certainly capable of doing reckless/outrageous things in the Delta Quadrant. Thought it might be fun to see her do something outrageous at home and take Tom along for the ride._

xxx

The party honoring the Voyager crew was winding down, but people were still milling about, not quite willing to say a final goodbye.

The afternoon's pleasant vibe took an abrupt turn when Mike Ayala exclaimed, "Holy hell! What's she doing up there?"

The party-goers raced to the wall of windows to see their captain — now admiral — standing on top of the patio wall. A 1½-meter-high stone wall that took up half the distance to the inlet below. Her dress uniform coat, replete with medals, was crumpled on the ground next to her boots. And Kathryn Janeway looked like she was about to jump.

Chakotay made it to the wall first. "Kathryn, come down," he ordered.

"You don't outrank me," she retorted. He moved to grab her and she stopped him with a glare.

"Admiral, your actions are not logical," Seven admonished.

"Logic does not apply here," Tuvok interjected. Kathryn raised an eyebrow, then nodded at her old friend.

"Come off there before you fall," Chakotay wheedled. "You'll feel better when you sober up."

She snorted. "I haven't had a drop. Then again, I didn't ask you to pay attention."

Tom, who had been elsewhere when the commotion started, finally made it through the crowd. He nonchalantly leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "Kate, what's going on?"

"There you are," she said, giving him a brilliant smile. "I've finally realized something."

"What's that?" he asked, puzzled.

She spread her arms. "I don't have to be the captain any more. I don't have to be the ice queen"

"You were never an ice queen," he said softly.

She gave him a lopsided grin. "Thank you. But I _had to be_ the perfect officer … at least I had to try. But I don't have to be perfect now … not for me … my father … or _your_ father for that matter. And unless I put that coat back on, I don't have to do anything I don't want to."

"I'd say you earned that," he said with a shrug. "Sounds good."

"Would your wife agree?" she asked earnestly.

He snorted. "You mean my _ex_-wife? The one who took another assignment without telling me?"

Something unreadable crossed her face. "Where's Miral?"

"Right now? With Mom."

She nodded and smiled softly, then held out her hand. "Come with me, then."

He just looked at her for a moment, taking it all in. Her hair glowed red in the afternoon sun, and there was an intensity in her grey eyes that he found frightening … but oh, so beckoning.

In two moves, he joined her on the wall.

"So where are we going?" he said, taking her hand.

"I propose that we jump."

The look he gave her clearly said, _"You're crazy."_ She just laughed. "It's actually not that far down, Thomas. Just don't go head first. And I know you can swim."

"All right," he agreed, "But where do we swim to? That water's still cold."

She chuckled and pointed to a cabin cruiser moored across the inlet. "See the boat? I bought it a couple of months ago. I chose this spot because the water temperature is 10 degrees warmer than in the main part of the Bay. At least until the sun goes down."

The murmurs grew louder as Tom sat down and took off his boots, throwing them over his shoulder into the crowd. He stood up and shucked off his jacket, tossing that behind him, too.

She gave him that look, the one that said _"I'm about to do something reckless." _"Ready to take a leap of faith?" she asked.

"I've always had faith in you," he said with a grin. "Let's go."

A quick count of three, and they jumped ….

Tom faintly heard the shouts as he plummeted … then the cold shock of hitting the water. He shot back up, sputtering … and Kathryn was already swimming a length ahead of him.

They climbed aboard; she thrust a blanket at him as she wrapped another around herself. They were about to go below when they heard it …

"Oh, my God, look at that," Kathryn managed through her laughter.

The whole damn crew was standing on or near the wall, cheering and clapping. Well, most of them: Chakotay and Seven stood with their mouths open. Tuvok stood quietly, but damned if he wasn't smiling.

Tom just waved. Kathryn, still laughing, gave her former crew a snappy salute, then grabbed his hand and pulled him below.

xxx

Later, the boat rocked gently in its slip as she stretched deliciously against him in bed.

"So," he murmured, pulling her close. "What's next?"

"Hmm," she said as she stretched again. "I suggest that we collect Miral and tie up any loose ends. Then we head out."

"You feel confident about taking this out?"

She just nudged him. "I do have some boating experience beyond sailboats. And I've been taking lessons, though you can practically leave these things on autopilot. My counselor was delighted that I found a new hobby."

"So where do you want to go?"

"Nothing overly ambitious at first, thank you. Just down the coast a bit … go see the Old Los Angeles reefs. After that — and you do get a vote in this — we could keep going: I'm told there are some lovely areas along the South American coasts. If we find a place we like, we can stay awhile." 

"Until Starfleet calls you back."

She grinned and shook her head. "Nope. My retirement becomes official in the morning. And since _you're_ not going back … "

He snorted. "You planned the whole thing, didn't you?"

"The boat was my plan all along. But my grand exit? Really just a crazy thought. But after seven years of pulling off outrageous ideas, it wasn't too difficult. You were the wild card, though."

He propped himself up on an elbow to face her. "You knew."

"About the divorce? Certainly. And to be frank, your marital problems weren't exactly a secret on Voyager. I'd hoped you two could pull it together for the baby's sake."

He shook his head. "Getting home changed everything." She just nodded in agreement.

"What if I'd said no?"

She shrugged. "Depends on the 'no.' If you had just refused to go over the wall, I would have reconsidered. Though knowing you ..." she gently punched his shoulder as they both chuckled.

"If you'd walked away, I would have made my grand exit and sailed off. Might have checked in occasionally to see if you were OK."

She shifted to face him, laying a hand on his chest to steady herself. "I had to ask, Tom. Letting go of you back then nearly killed me, but I had to. There was too much at stake." She sighed. "I don't know if I can make up for it, but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't try."

He stroked her knuckles with his free hand. "I have a _lot_ of regrets, Kate. You've always been one of them," he said softly. "I'd like to wipe _that_ slate clean, though there are going to be complications."

She leaned in and softly kissed him. "We'll take them as they come," she whispered. "But for a while at least, I'd just like to live in the moment."

"Well, I have an idea of what we can do with _this_ moment," he said, ducking his head in for another kiss.


End file.
